Dam with scandal. The Arab press abolishes Olăroiu, before the decisive return with Iraq. He missed direct qualification from the preliminaries
The first representative team of the United Arab Emirates, trained by the Romanian Cosmin Olăroiu, achieved only a draw, 1-1, in the duel on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, with the national team of Iraq.
Cosmin Olăroiu Photo/EPA
Installed in charge of the team in April of this year, Olăroiu failed to qualify directly from the preliminaries, and now he is betting on the playoff to maintain his chances at the World Cup.
Iraq struck first in the 10th minute through Al-Hamadi, who flawlessly converted a free kick. The hosts' reaction came quickly. After only eight minutes, Luan Pereira restored the tie. In extra time, at minute 90+6, Caio Lucas sent the ball into the goal and started the fiesta in the stands, but the joy was ended after the intervention of VAR, which canceled the goal for offside.
“The start was poor after we conceded a quick goal. It was difficult for us to build effective attacks. The Iraqi national team dominated the first half and we came back in the second. The support from the fans was the best part of the match. The second leg is coming up and we have to gather our strength!”stated Olăroiu, at the press conference.
The game ended in a draw, 1-1, and the outcome of the qualification will be known in the second leg of the Asian play-off, scheduled for Tuesday, November 18, in Basra.
How World Cup qualification will be decided
The United Arab Emirates and Iraq will play a decisive double leg in November, but the winner will not immediately get the tickets for the World Cup in 2026. The team that prevails in this duel will only go to a new playoff, an intercontinental one, scheduled for March.
Representatives from Asia, Africa, South America, Oceania, plus two teams from Central and North America will take part in that tournament. Only two of the six participants will make it to the final tournament.
The structure of the bracket is simple: the six teams will be divided into two areas of the table. Four of them will compete in the semifinals, while the best ranked selected in the FIFA ranking will go directly to the finals, where they will await their opponents.
Asia has eight guaranteed spots for the final tournament in 2026. Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, Uzbekistan and Jordan have already qualified after previous rounds of qualifiers. A month ago, Saudi Arabia and Qatar completed the list of Asian teams that secured their presence at the World Cup.
The Arabs dismissed the Romanian technician after the tour with Iraq
The weak start in the dam with Iraq provoked harsh criticism of the Romanian, in the Arab press: “The pinnacle of coaching bankruptcy: a finished coach. No changes, no structure, no organization. Random, no plans!”the Arabs wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Olăroiu is not in his debut on the bench of a national team. In the past, the former FCSB coach managed the Saudi Arabian national team for a short period between December 2014 and January 2015, during which time he collected one win and three defeats.
The 55-year-old coach, who led Sharjah FC to the final of the Asian Champions League 2 in the spring, took over the Emirates national team in place of Portuguese Paulo Bento. He had been sacked just after a dramatic win over North Korea in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
